Our new season brochure is now available, jam-packed with a wonderful wealth of shows and events to suit all theatrical tastes, running from June to December, and into 2025.
View the new Derby Theatre brochure online…
You can view an interactive online version of the season brochure here:
MADE IN DERBY
We are incredibly proud of the shows we produce and present. We make 6 shows a year across our Main House and Studio; this means that whenever you see the MADE IN DERBY stamp, you know the shows have been made by our own artistic team right here on your doorstep. If you buy a ticket for a MADE IN DERBY show – 100% of the money goes to your local theatre. From set painters to lighting designers, directors to actors, you are helping to support a creative workforce right here in your city and our vital work in communities. MADE IN DERBY shows for this next season include: Alice in Wonderland, Welfare, A Christmas Carol and Chicken Licken.
Alice in Wonderland, on from 22 June to 6 July, is a wonderful and whacky theatrical adventure for all ages, a thrilling new version by Nicola Werenowska based on Lewis Carroll’s classic story. Bursting with brilliant original music, this production will capture the imagination and curiosity of children and adults alike, a sparkling show that will stimulate and excite the senses at every twist and turn. All performances will be BSL integrated with creative captions.
Welfare, our big main house autumn production, on from Sat 28 September to Sat 12 October, is a new play by British-Armenian playwright, Abi Zakarian that will see Derby Theatre transformed into the site of The Derbyshire Miners’ Holiday Camp in Skegness where miners went to convalesce, and later to holiday, as it turned into a pioneering holiday camp for Derbyshire miners and their families. The production will take a trip through the decades as we follow the fortunes of the camp through the highs and lows of history. Audiences can expect Brass Bands, rousing speeches, entertainment and a whole load of bingo!
Christmas 2024 at Derby Theatre offers two festive crackers for all ages – with a thrilling new version of the classic
story A Christmas Carol, a timeless tale of hope and redemption which follows Ebenezer Scrooge on an eye-opening, yet wondrous, journey through his past, present and future, by Mike Kenny in the Main House and Chicken Licken, a Hiccup Theatre, Derby Theatre and Polka Theatre production, a cherished and charming tale of a little chicken who believes the sky is falling and the world is coming to an end, in the Studio.
Looking ahead to spring 2025, we are also thrilled to announce that our first MADE IN DERBY production for next year will be the iconic Of Mice and Men, a Derby Theatre, Octagon Theatre Bolton, Hull Truck Theatre and Theatre by the Lake production. Of Mice and Men remains as powerful and relevant today as it did when originally written in 1937. Based on Steinbeck’s classic novella, and with themes of friendship, migration and prejudice, this play continues to move and resonate with audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
Departure Lounge, our summer festival of fresh and exciting performance, now in its 12th year, will return on 11 & 12 July with a bumper line-up of shows, works-in-progress, workshops, gatherings a hub for fresh, contemporary, cutting edge and innovative performance – a theatrical vacation like no other for artists and audiences alike.
Top-class touring productions include: My Son’s a Queer, a WhatsOnStage Award-winning and Olivier Award-nominated show performed by Rob Madge which celebrates the joy and chaos of raising a queer child and testament to the power of unconditional familial love; Dial M for Mayhem, a brand new charming farcical comedy drama from the author and director of the hugely successful courtroom phenomenon, The Verdict; Blackeyed Theatre, in association with Harrogate Theatre and South Hill Park Arts Centre, with Dracula adapted by Nick Lane, a brilliant, theatrical treatment of Bram Stoker’s adventure which blends Victorian Gothic with the contemporary; Please right back, part social realism, part science fiction with a healthy dose of mischief, a eulogy to the power of the imagination, storytelling and make believe from multi award-winning company, 1927 and Wonder Boy, winner of the 2023 Writers’ Guild Award for Best Play, a heart-warming, inspiring story about the power of communication.
Wonderful one-nighters for the autumn include: An Evening with Clive Myrie and James Rodgers: Reporting our History, Patricia Routledge in Conversation with Edward Seckerson, From England with Love from Hofesh Shecter Company, Ruby Wax: I’m Not As Well as I Thought I Was, Tez Ilyas, Derwent Brass: Stage and Screen, An Evening with Carol Klein, Dom Joly: The Conspiracy Tour and Kerry Ellis: Queen of the West End.
LOTS of ways to GET INVOLVED
In addition to the productions we produce and present, the Theatre also offers a wealth of opportunities for all ages to get involved in the work we do, including: Matinee Meet Ups, Theatre Unwrapped, Dementia Carers’ Café, Youth Theatre, DT Ambassadors, Work Experience, Open Days plus MUCH more. For more information about how you can get involved – for show-related opportunities, visit individual show pages, for general get involved opportunities, visit the GET INVOLVED section of the Derby Theatre website.